17chee

Like the title says I broke my rear differential. Driving I heard a loud pop. Took it to a shop to have them remove the cover and sure enough the pinion gear and the ring are badly damaged. A large chunk of the pinion is missing and a couple teeth on the ring. The shop also said some of the spider gears were damaged and the posi had a small hairline crack in it.

I am about 400 miles from home and wonder how unsafe driving 4hi with the rear shaft out. From what I've read elsewhere on the forum it's generally ok but not great. However, those examples never seem to have a busted differential and I'm worried mine could lock up or the wheels cloud come off.

I have a 98 with the corporate 8.25 diff. The shop wants over $3k to rebuild and are currently looking at costs for just putting in a Dana 44.

00t444e

I just rebuilt my 8.25 with all new gears and bearings for about $350 in parts, so even if you add in another 400 or so for a new carrier 3K is a major ripoff to rebuild that axle. You can get a used one for around $150 and throw it in there. Driving in 4hi with no rear driveshaft would be OK if your rear axle wasn't messed up, in your case I wouldn't suggest it because as you mentioned the rear end could lock up on you.

dave1123

The rear axle in my 97 ZJ blew out the pinion bearings on the highway and did just about everything that it could without cracking the case! You could take the pinion yoke and move it up and down a good 1/2 inch! I pulled the rear driveshaft, put it in 4wd Part Time (242) and drove it home about 30 miles at 40 mph on surface streets without it locking up, BUT that's because the pinion wasn't even touching the ring gear. I was worried that the Dana 30 front axle would not take the load of the entire truck, but it did without the slightest complaint. I kept the speed down just in case if the rear DID lock up, I'd be able to get it stopped without loosing control.

In my opinion, 400 miles is a bit long to hope it'll stay together unless you pull the ring gear out and put the rest of it back together.

BwanaBob

A junkyard 8.25 is your best option, unless you have marvelous towing insurance.
This site might help you find a yard where you are stranded. Ask about installation.
It is not a high-tech job.
http://www.car-part.com/

Send a pm to user Cruiser54 on this forum for advice. He is over in Prescott, AZ and
he used to own a towing service.

Jeepwalker

It would make for one heck of a story if you pulled it off!
Are you in a big enough metro area where they might have a driveline shop that services large trucks? Ask around ...call the NAPA or a trucking company. Driveline shops can rebuild diffs in their sleep. And cheap too! They know how to set them up correctly. My brother has had a driveline shop do work on his tk around here. They normally work on like dump trucks, so something small like a Jeep is a treat for them to work on.

As far as driving home, the pinion would probably be fine w/o any weight on it as long as you got the chunks and shavings cleaned out. Hopefully none got into the pinion bearing, b/c the pinion kind of 'draws' lube up to the front pinion bearing. Often, the reason a pinion goes is b/c the bearing fails ...but doesn't sound like that happened in your case. But you might want to rotate it by hand w/o the driveshaft just to make sure it's smooth and free.

I'm not sure how much xfer case fluid would spit out the missing driveshaft hole, or how you would keep a yoke from working itself out. You might be able to clean off the back seal with some carb cleaner and Fix a tight bag or gorilla tape the rear seal shut with some expert taping. Otherwise, sure, worth a shot!

awg

I would not drive it 400miles, due to risk of rear wheel lock up..i know people this has happened to

If you cannot obtain a used diff locally, I would have it trucked, as you could probably arrange that for ~$1000 ?

as for a $3k rebuild, that is just taking advantage of a fella when he is down

Dave51

I think one way it could work is if you took the ring off. Got tools? Got crazy?

lawsoncl

Getting the ring gear out means pulling shafts, so still a fair amount of work. The ring gear pulls oil up top for the pinion bearing, so you would want to remove the drive shaft so as well.

SatiricalHen

Pulling the ring gear and driveshaft would be fine. I'd do it if I were in the situation

xjgerry

Truck it yourself. A uhaul van and trailer would be much less than a grand, I think, and you get a ride home on your schedule.
Best Luck